City attorney given green light to settle lawsuits filed by families of victims
The Alexandria City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to allow its attorney "to compromise and settle the claims" of two families who sued after their daughters were killed just hours after they sought help from police.
The families of Ashley Mortle and Destiny Compton in August filed the lawsuits, which names the city, Chief Ronney Howard and Officer Joseph Rachal as defendants. Attorney Jermaine Harris represents both families.
More: Lawsuits: City, officer failed to protect women from man who killed them hours later
Mortle, Compton and a third woman had been at a North Mall Drive gas station on the night of Feb. 6 when Mortle's former boyfriend, Ke'Ron Nickelson, approached and grabbed and punched her, according to the lawsuit.
He also took her cellphone, but Mortle was able to drive away.
She drove to Alexandria Police Department headquarters on Bolton Avenue, where they were met by Mortle's mother, Temekia Brown.
They reported what had happened, and showed Rachal that Nickelson had followed them, was parked outside and still was texting threats to the women, it reads.
But the lawsuit alleges Rachal told them they would have to return on the next business day to file charges.
Mortle, 19, and Compton, 20, were killed about two hours later in Compton's Culpepper Road home. Police issued a public plea to help find Nickelson, who was arrested in Houston three days later.
He later was indicted on two counts of first-degree murder. He remains in jail on a bail of $2 million and has a pretrial conference set for Jan. 5, 2022. His trial has been set for April 25, 2022.
Online Rapides Parish Clerk of Court records show no filings in either of the lawsuits since early August.
This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Council gives OK to settle lawsuits from Ashley Mortle, Destiny Compton families
